


A Thousand White Fragments

by Skull_Bearer



Series: Spaceborn [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Cliffhangers, Crossover, F/M, Grief, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Eddie Brock, Omega Venom, Outer Space, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Trauma, Venom and Eddie in Space, Xandar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-09-27 09:12:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17159279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skull_Bearer/pseuds/Skull_Bearer
Summary: Sequel toBaffled, in Love and HateEddie and Venom have been picked up by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who have bigger problems on their hands than two pregnant Omegas.





	1. Friends

“What the hell is that thing?” The guy stares at them, Venom bristles, hulking up around Eddie’s shoulders. “A sythilia sky-slug?”

Eddie scowls; “Fuck you” at the same time Venom bears his teeth. “We’re Venom, and this is _our_ ship.” Venom preens at little at that little word- _our_.

“Yeah, your ship doesn’t seem to be going too well.” The guy nods at the wrecked control panel. “How about, this is _my_ ship, and we give you a ride back to Xandar, no questions asked.”

Venom flares with irritation, but he can feel the bright, desperate flash of hope from Eddie- _home_. “Earth.” Eddie growls; and Venom coils a little around his vocal cords, dropping their voice into a warning rumble.

“Yeah, we’re not going anywhere near there. Xandar, and you can find your own way back to that mudball with your pet goo-“

 _“Pet_?!” That’s the last straw. Venom rears up, engulfs Eddie and marches on the guy, who goes white and jumps back.

“Okay! Okay! You get to Xandar, and a quarter share! That should be enough to get you and your pet human back to Earth!”

Pet human. That’s a bit better- _no it’s not_. Eddie mumbles in their head, pushing back in control. Venom growls and retreats back inside Eddie. “Fuck!” The human is plastered against the far wall, stinking with fear.

“Pet?” Eddie crosses his arms.

“No, sorry to say it, but your boyfriend is _way_ scarier than you are.” It’s Venom’s turn to feel warm and fuzzy. _Boyfriend,_ and he’s scary too.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t encourage him.” Eddie tries to scowl, but he can’t help but smile either. _Boyfriend._  It’s a happy thrum between them.

The guy lets out a long breath. “Why are you even going to Earth?”

“We kinda live there.” Eddie rests his hand absently on his stomach. “And we’re in a hurry to get back.”

The guy’s eyes dart to their stomach; and Venom bares his teeth in warning. _Their spawn_. In him, and in Eddie, twin children resting warm and safe inside their joined bodies.

But the guy’s eyes soften. He’s a Breeder too- Omega, in Earth terms. He understands. “Okay.” He groans. “But seriously, we’re on a mission here. We can drop you off on Xandar- _with the money_ -“ Venom growls through Eddie’s throat. “And you can probably find someone to get you back, okay? But seriously, no one goes to that end of the galaxy.”

“You’re human too.” Eddie steps forwards. The guy shies back a little, eyes darting at the tendrils lashing around Eddie’s shoulders. “Why aren’t you going to Earth?”

“Been to Earth.” The guy waves him off- a bit too stiffly. “Not much to come back for.” He’s trying for bravado, but he smells of pain. Eddie hesitates, Venom can taste his curiosity, but he doesn’t push. They do need this guy, after all. “Don’t know why you’re bothering, really. There's a whole universe out there.”

“Yeah, we’ve seen some of it.” Eddie is thinking of Riot, the aliens that attacked New York years back. “What’s your name anyway?”

“I told you, Starlord-“

“ _And we’re Venom_.” Venom grins at him from Eddie’s shoulders, enjoying the flinch that gets. Eddie waves him back and he retreats back inside, feeling smug. “But I’m Eddie Brock. You?”

“Peter Quill.” The guy says finally. “You can come off the ship so we can tow it, but tell your boyfriend to behave himself or he’ll get diced. My friends are way nastier than me.”

“You hear that?” Eddie prods Venom, Venom snorts. They’ve killed and eaten Drake and Riot, he can’t imagine much worse than that. “Behave.”

“What are you, anyway?” Quill asks as he leads the way back to the airlock.

“We are Venom.” Venom feels a little more mollified at being addressed directly. The door hisses open. “We are a-“

“ _Symbiote!”_ There’s a roar from the far side. “Get down!”

Everything happens a little too fast. There’s a blur of black and green and something flashes out, sharp and gleaming. Venom rears, tries to strike- and Eddie throws himself around them, wraps Venom in his arms and buries him against his chest. Pain explodes through his nervous system a split-moment later and Eddie buckles under the blow.

Venom screams and lashes out. There’s _two feet of metal_ in Eddie’s shoulder and everything tastes of blood and metal and Eddie _can’t breathe_ there’s _blood going into his lung_ -

The green creature pulls the blade out and Venom engulfs Eddie, swallowing him down, coating his back and into his lungs and sealing off the damage. “ _Kill you!”_ Venom screams, so loud the metal panels rattle. _“Eddie! Eddie!”_

 _I’m- okay, babe._ Eddie whispers inside him. _You got me, I’m okay_.

Venom trembles, he desperately wants to tear the creature to pieces. _She hurt Eddie_ \- but oh the spawn the spawn- are they okay did this mad thing hurt them? Venom bares their teeth, flares out their claws in warning as he runs desperate and searching over their children. Eddie’s is stirring, the burst of harsh hormones waking it, Venom murmurs nonsense to it, sends a warm wash of phenethylamine to soothe.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Quill jumps between them. “Gamora- what the fuck was that?!”

“One of Thanos’ little pets.” The green creature spits. “Probably waiting for us-“

“Eddie.” Venom growls, runs their claws against the metal floor. “Our host, our spawn-“ Eddie’s blood is pounding through them, rage and terror and wild panic. Everything is screaming at him to _kill_ this creature, right now, before it strikes again and- it could hit them anywhere. In their stomach, where their spawn are resting, weak and unable to-

“Okay, _stop_!” Quill has both arms out, one hand holding off the green creature, the other one trying to push Venom back. Venom considers biting off the offending appendage, but Eddie pulls him away.

“It’s okay babe.” He strokes Venom soothingly. Venom shudders, he really wants to curl up inside Eddie, around their spawn, and possibly never come out again. “I’m fine. You saved me, sweetheart.”

The creature- she looks like a green human, red haired and savage- is still glaring at them, but her blade lowers. It’s still slick with red blood and Venom shrieks at the sight of it. “Okay!” Eddie pulls him closer. “Shh, shh, it’s okay. Okay. Okay.” He rocks back and forth, the repetition rumbling through his body. Venom closes his eyes, presses himself back half-into Eddie. “Get rid of that thing!“ Eddie waves at the blade.

When Venom looks up again, the creature’s sheathed the weapon, although her hand is still resting on the hilt. She smells- utterly alien, not Worker or Warrior or Breeder, but something else, something unknown.

“Right.” Quill takes a deep breath. “Gamora- no stabby on new people if they’re not _actually trying to kill us_. Venom, Brock- no tearing people apart, okay?”

“What’s going _on_ up there?” A small furry- thing climbs in and bares its teeth at them.

Venom bares his teeth back. Eddie stares, mouth open. _That raccoon is **talking** -_

Then Eddie reminds himself that he’s living in a cheap Star Trek knockoff with his alien goo boyfriend so _of course_ there’s a talking raccoon. Why the fuck wouldn’t there be, at this point?

More creatures come in; one is green too, but bigger than the one with the blade and patterned in red, it smells strange, but familiar- Breeder. The other is a walking tree and just smells of sap. “Oh.” The red-green one stops; staring at Venom. “A Klyntar symbiote.”

“A rogue symbiote.” Green-Blade grits out, taking a step back and centering herself for a new attack. Venom snarls, but Eddie has his arms around him, not letting him come any closer. “Get away from that thing, human! It will kill you.”

“Yeah, no.” Eddie grits his teeth, holding Venom close. “Thanks for the warning, but you’re about six months late. We’ve been over that one already.”

Green-Blade hesitates, shifts her weight off the attack. “Six months?”

“That ship’s been dead in the water for ages.” Quill breaks in. “There’s nothing in there but rabbits and these two, and they’re not even in the right galaxy anymore.”

There’s a long, uncomfortable silence. Venom relaxes a little, wrapping himself more closely around Eddie. Red-Green steps forward, broad face strangely soft. “You are bonded?”

“Um,” Eddie rubs the joint between neck and shoulder. “Not- yet? I mean, we’ve been talking about it, but I want to do it properly, you know? Maybe a trip somewhere romantic, a nice dinner-“

“They are speaking of symbiosis.” Venom growls, but the images in Eddie’s head are- wonderful. A lovely meal for the two of them, Eddie’s fingers brushing over him, walking hand in hand in a city full of beautiful lights-

“Oh.” He feels Eddie’s face heat, blood flowing into outer capillaries out of embarrassment. “Um, yeah. It’s been nearly six months, right?”

“Right.” Venom agrees. It’s not always been easy; but- Venom hadn’t ever _imagined_ bonding like this. In all his dreams, he’d never so much as gotten close to this paradise. “Five months, twenty seven days.”

“Aww, you’ve been keeping count.” Eddie strokes him, presses a kiss to his teeth. “We’ll have to do something for the anniversary.”

Their audience is staring. Venom grumbles and wriggles around Eddie irritably. “Just because _you_ don’t have-”

“No.” Green-Blade says suddenly. “We do not. No one has. There are-“ She draws in a breath. “No one has seen bonded symbiotes for decades.”

Somewhere, Riot is laughing at them. _Loser. Soft. Weak._ The others on the comet pushing him away, out of the warm huddle of their bodies, into the cold of the ice. Reluctant breeding with Warriors unwilling to have their spawn tainted with his strangeness. Taken on the rocket as much to be gotten rid of, as to serve as a Breeder to the invading force. He’s been a freak most of his life, he doesn’t need it here.

“Fuck off!” Eddie snarls, hugging Venom to his chest. “Just because the rest of the species are- genocidal little shits-“

“They were not before.” Red-Green’s voice is strangely soft. He steps forward, but he has no weapons, hands open and gentle. He smells like Eddie, and Venom can’t help but relax a little. “When I was a child, my people would send their best and strongest to Klyntar.”

“Most of them died.” Green-Blade says sourly.

“Yes!” Red-Green doesn’t seem bothered. “Of course! But the worthy survived, and returned bonded as our greatest warriors.” He turned warm eyes on Eddie. “Are you a warrior, human? You smell strong.”

“Uh, no.” Eddie blinks. “I’m a journalist. You know; the people in news programs? No? Okay then…”

“You must indeed be worthy.” Red-Green nods firmly. “Or you would not have been bonded with this one.”

Venom cannot speak. The world trembles around him. _There are those like him._ He might have been a freak and loser to his people but- those weren’t the only ones out there. “I was spawned on the comet.” He says finally, glad of Eddie’s warm hands stroking him. Was it different, on Klyntar? He had only ever heard stories about the place, but they could all have been lies. Perhaps back there, there were symbiotes like him, who _wanted_ to bond, who loved their hosts. “They never wished to bond, but I did. I have never seen Klyntar.”

Green-Blade’s face softens, she looks away. “And you never will.” She says flatly. “It was destroyed more than thirty years ago.”

For a moment, Venom cannot hear anything but the _swish-thump_ of Eddie’s heart, the rush of blood through their veins. The breath leaving Eddie’s lungs in a rush.  _No._

Eddie is trying to pull him closer, but he cannot see him. All he can see is the comet. The bare hundreds of his kind huddled on it. They were just the forward troops, they had thought. There were thousands more of them coming. Untold millions in the Hive. They were legion in the universe, uncountable-

Had they known? Any of them? Or had it all been a lie? A massive, maddened lie of the last few of his species, lost and homeless in space? Had Riot known? Oh Riot, Riot. Venom had always hated him but how many Warriors were left? Even his death suddenly became a terrible loss. And oh- _oh_ the spawn. Their desperately small, helpless children nestled within them-

They are all staring at them, all those eyes, boring inside them and in a moment of blind panic Venom is convinced they know. They know about the spawn they are about to tear them apart to get to them, the last few symbiotes in the galaxy-

Venom dives back inside Eddie, wraps himself over and over around the spawn resting in Eddie, his own curled close in the tangle of his body. _Safe safe safe_. He whispers, desperate. _Always keep you safe. Never hurt you. Never never never._

“Babe-“ He feels Eddie’s voice trembling through them. “Oh sweetheart.” There’s the tremble of a drawn breath, the spike and ebb of prolactic as the tears run down Eddie’s face. Venom wants to come out and comfort him, say they’re okay but-

But they aren’t. But the thought of leaving their spawn, even for a moment, is more than he can manage. He feels Eddie press his hands over their abdomen, stroke him through their skin. Venom manages to stretch a tendril through the skin, touch Eddie’s hand before huddling back inside, nuzzling their two spawn. _Safe, safe._

“Can- we go somewhere?” Eddie’s voice wavers. “We- we really need a moment.”

 

* * *

 

 

Venom doesn’t react at once, and it’s a terrifying moment where Eddie’s huddled in a corner of the spaceship, hugging his knees and trying to pushing _comfort_ and _safe_ and _love_ into their shared body and there’s _nothing_ , for the first time in six months he feels terrifyingly, utterly alone.

Then, as the walls start to close in around him, the floor tilting under him in horror- Venom pulls free of his chest. He doesn’t say anything, just winds himself around Eddie, over and over until Eddie’s upper body is a tangle of tendrils, then closes his eyes, radiating exhausted wretchedness.

Eddie wants to say something, but he can’t imagine what. He’s always been shit at comforting anyone. He tries to imagine how he’d feel, if they’d been told Earth was destroyed, and the only surviving human beings were Drake and people like him.

There’d be nothing anyone could say to make it better.

Eddie hugs Venom tightly, rests his head gently against Venom’s, and kisses him. “I’m here.” He says finally. “I’ll always be here. You can always have a home with me.”

Venom stirs and nuzzles him, the crushing loneliness like an enormous weight on his coils. Eddie closes his eyes and tries to- push himself into that feeling, feels his own back bend under the weight of it. _Not alone,_ he whispers in their shared mind. “I’m here, and the kids. We love you, darling.”

He’s vaguely aware of someone standing in the doorway, but ignores them; this is more important. “We’ll be safe. We’re Venom. We burnt up Riot and ate Drake, remember? We’ll eat anyone who comes near us.”

Venom doesn’t respond at first; and then not with words, but with a huge wailing emotion that they are so small and everything else is so _big_ and they are weak and losers and not enough and their _kids_ -

“Shh, shh.” Eddie closes his eyes, rocks them gently. “We’ll keep them safe. We’re good. We’ve done great so far. We’re not losers if we’re together- or we’re the most bad-ass losers in the galaxy.”

That coaxes a weak laugh from Venom, somewhere in the back of his head, “My bad-ass loser.”

“That’s right, babe.” Eddie exhales in relief. Who the fuck knew, he could actually be good at this whole comforting gig. Annie would be amazed. “We’re all okay here.”

“My clan leader was bonded.” The guy at the door finally steps in; it’s the green guy with the red tattoos. He smells of Omega too, which is just _weird_ in an alien. “She traveled to Klyntar as a child, and told of trees that could walk, and great oceans where every wave spoke. The one who chose her had been a stone, and was quite ready to try anything else to find some excitement, even bond to an alien.” He smiles, a bit wistful. “It was a beautiful place, if deadly.”

Venom doesn’t move, huddled against Eddie. “If you’re trying to give a pep talk, it sucks.” Eddie snaps. “Who the fuck after you anyway?”

“I did not inhale anything!” The guy looks indignant. “I am Drax the Destroyer. But if I am Drax the Unwanted-“

“No,” Venom lifts his head wearily. “I want to know. I want to hear this one’s stories, if that’s all that’s left.” And _God_  but that sounds so _broken_ Eddie just wants to scoop Venom up and tuck him away somewhere inside his heart except he probably is already in there and Eddie feels so fucking _useless_ -

He resorts to just a kiss and light stroking down Venom’s neck and back.

“I was young when the end came.” He continued, “And few dared to go to Klyntar even then. Fewer came back. I would have tried, and brought triumph to my people but- Thanos came to them, and then to us.”

“What?” Venom’s head rears up, white eyes narrowed. “What was that name?”

“The biggest genocidal dipshit in the fucking universe.” Quill walks in. And maybe biology is stupid but having three- with Venom, four- Omegas in the same space is such a fucking relief after living in a spaceship that still stank of Alpha after more than five months. Quill must feel the same way because he takes a deep breath and relaxes a bit. “Feeling better?”

“No.” Venom looks between them. “What was that name?”

“Thanos.” Quill shrugs, “Gamora can explain him better, but he’s been on a ‘destroy everyone in the universe’ kick for the last few decades. We managed to kick his people off Xandar, but- yeah.” He waves at Venom and Drax, “It’s been ugly.”

“Hang on.” Eddie feels himself lagging five miles behind this conversation. “Are you saying there’s a sort of- space Hitler rampaging around killing entire planets and-“

Eddie’s about to say _no one noticed?_  Only- they did, didn’t they? There was that little ‘invade New York’ thing a few years back and the only person going apeshit over that had been Tony Stark with his whole ‘protect the Earth with robots oops they’re genocidal’. Then there’d been the whole Drake-and-Riot business and if Eddie knew humans that had probably been swept under the rug too. “Are they going after Earth?”

Venom tenses, a shiver of _no_ running through them, but Quill just _shrugs_. “Probably. You got any Infinity Stones there?”

 _What_? “How the fuck should I know? No one had any idea about this crap.” Fuck, Jesus fuck but Earth’s been a sort of fucking- Sudatenland for alien Nazis and no one even fucking realized. The whole world’s in danger of being obliterated and oh fuck _Annie_. And it’s not just her it’s Ms Chen and Dan and the dickheads at his old work and his asshole neighbor and people he’d nod to in the street and everyone back in New York and it’s the _whole goddamn world-_

“Yes.” Venom whispers. He pushes at something in Eddie’s brain and, and suddenly Eddie can- breathe again. He’d been heading down into a panic attack without realizing it.

“Okay.” He takes a breath because this is just _too big_. Drax pulls a bottle of something out of a pocket and hands it to him. It could be poison to humans but Eddie doesn’t give a fuck at this point and downs it.

It tastes like the world’s worst bathtub vodka, he coughs and spits and some of it goes up his nose and he’s gulping for air but most definitely back here. “Okay.” He chokes, and hands the bottle back. “Probably shouldn’t, the kids-“

“They are fine.” Venom nuzzles him, flood warmth through them both. “You needed it.”

Eddie closes his eyes a moment, suddenly wishing really hard they were back on their broken little spaceship with nothing to worry about but morning sickness and looking after the rabbits. But- it wouldn’t have made reality go away. Sooner or later, they’d have found out, even if it was just by having this- Thanos come to Earth and murder everyone on it _Jesus fuck_ -

“We’re not far from Xandar.” The green woman- Gamora- comes back in. “No more than a day or two now. What are we telling them about these two?” He jerks her head at Eddie and Venom.

“If they’re going to give us shit-“ Eddie’s had about eight times too much shit today.

“Their people have fended off repeated attacks from Thanos’ forces, and the last symbiotes are those working for him. Unless we can find a way of proving they’re bonded, we’re not going to have a warm reception."

“Okay-“ Quill holds up a hand, “This one I’ve got sorted, you're knocked up right?” He turns to Eddie.

Drax looks around the ceiling, “Where?”

“Christ, _pregnant._ ” Quill rolls his eyes. “I can smell it from here.”

“Yeah.” Eddie crosses his arms around his stomach, He’s not showing much yet, but it’s there.

“You have bred?” Drax breaks into a broad grin. “That is an honor. You must truly be worthy.”

“More like the only one on the spaceship-“ but Venom covers his mouth, murmuring _worthy_ , in his head, and that's—okay, that’s nice.

“ _Okay_.” Quill breaks in. “I’m guessing the more- murder-y symbiotes don’t bother to have babies with their food. We can say you guys need a- check up or whatever. That should be enough proof.”

Venom bristles and suddenly he’s running under Eddie’s skin, rearing them up. “No-one goes near our spawn!”

“Whoa-“ Eddie pulls him back, and Venom subsides reluctantly, grumbling threats. “No one’s going to hurt them, babe, and anyway-“ he rubs his stomach again, it feels fine, it’s been normal so far but- “It’ll probably be good to get checked up, make sure everything’s going well, okay?”

 ** _No one touches our spawn_**. Venom growls inside him, but doesn’t emerge again.

“Okay.” Eddie raises his hands. “We’re good to go.”

Gamora nods, and turns back to the cockpit. Quill is about to go too, but Eddie stand up as the thought hits him. “Hey, you said- you were on a mission, right? ‘s why you couldn’t take us to Earth.”

“Yeah.” Quill gives him a tired sort of smile, he suddenly smells exhausted. “Stop Thanos. Everyone else is too busy fucking around to work out ‘kill the galaxy’ kinda means them too.” He shrugs, pats Eddie on the shoulder. “We’ll get you on a ship back to Earth though, don’t worry.”

Eddie is quiet. Venom must be able to see the thoughts inside him, but he doesn’t say anything either. Drax pulls them to their feet and leads them back into the cockpit, to the endlessly passing stars.


	2. Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Venom get used to the Milano and meet the crew.
> 
> Thank you to dogmatix for the beta.

Drax shows them to their berth, a small bunk in a corner of the ship. The raccoon is sitting on the top bunk and groans when it sees them. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, _really?_ ”

“You have no hospitality, rodent?” Drax narrows his eyes.

“Let’s see, uh, no.” The raccoon crosses its arms. “I’m not going to sleep here if he’s going to fuck a goo-monster.”

“Then you will not.” Drax moves shockingly fast, almost too quick to see. He has the raccoon dangling by the tail. “I believe there is still space with Gamora and Quill-”

“No!”

“Mantis and I have a berth in the corner-“

“Fuck off!”

“Or you may learn to be welcoming and _shut up!”_

“I hate you all.”

Drax drops the raccoon. It- he gets up and brushes itself off, glowering at them. “There’s a privacy button on your bunk. Turn it on before you do anything or I’ll bite your balls off.”

Venom pushes free from Eddie’s shoulder, and bares his own teeth. The raccoon subsides in grumbles. Drax nods them all goodnight and turns to go.

Eddie wraps his arms around Venom and rolls into the lower bunk. He barely has time to find the privacy button before Venom pours out of him, looping himself in endless coils around Eddie, shuddering. “Eddie-”

“Shh, shh.” Eddie strokes his head, his neck and body. His hands slip through his body, finds the little, hardened place where their child is resting. “It’s okay, babe. We’re all safe.” He pulls a tendril over and pulls up his shirt, letting Venom feel the slight swell of his belly, the child inside. “We’re all okay.”

Venom exhales, long and trembling, closes his massive opal eyes. “Thank you.”

“Even if it’s- if they’re all gone, we’re here.” He presses his head against Venom’s. “You, and our kids. They’ll grow up strong and safe with us.”

“Good.” Venom whispers hollowly. “Grow up good, like you.”

Eddie smiles. “Better than me.”

“Like _you_.” Venom insists. “I wanted- I wanted this.” He rests his head on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie strokes his head, presses a kiss between his eyes. “Even before we met. I saw you in the woman’s mind; you were so kind, so gentle. I wanted that.”

“I love you.” Eddie kisses him again, firmly. “I didn’t think of _that_ when we met- but I didn’t know it was possible. If you were human, I would have.” Eddie smiles and presses closer to Venom’s lashing body. “I’d want you any way I could have you.”

Venom lifts his head, presses his muzzle to Eddie’s lips and they kiss, warm and hot and his tongue flicking out to taste Eddie’s mouth. **_Now?_** Venom murmurs hungrily.

“Mmmm, anytime.” Eddie smiles and rubs his belly, “It’ll be good for the baby, anyway.”

Venom noses his way down and Eddie pulls off his shirt all the way, letting him lick and nip at the taut flesh of his belly. “Good?” The reverberations run right through Eddie, make him shudder, his cock stiffening in his pants.

“Oh yeah.” Eddie lifts his hips and undoes his pants, pulling them off along with his underwear. “Sex keeps the baby healthy, and it’s a good way of getting twins.”

“Really?”

“Nah, old Bondmate’s tales, but it’s a lot of fun.” He rolls over, wraps his arms around as much of Venom as he can manage, and pulls him close.

Venom floods over him ravenously, spilling out over his hips and legs, almost swallowing him down in darkness. “We should try, just in case.” Venom lifts his head and kisses Eddie again, opened-mouthed, tongue pushing into Eddie’s mouth.

Oh, but that’s good. The panic of the last few hours has hurled them up in the air and for the first time it feels like they’ve touched ground. Venom sloughs over him, winding between his fingers and squeezing. Eddie digs his fingers through Venom’s flesh, seeking those sweet little beads within him. Venom shudders, lapping over him hungrily, probing between his legs.

“Yeah,” Eddie cants his hips up; shivering as Venom runs over his cock and balls, licks gently over his ass. It’s a light touch, but it’s enough to make him slick.

“Responsive,” Venom hisses, lowers his head to lick, long and lingering from his ass to his balls. “You’re getting faster.”

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes, closes his eyes and rolls the little beads between his fingers until Venom groans. “Wait until we bond, darling; I’ll get turned on just by the scent of you. Maybe you’ll just have to keep fucking me all the time, I won’t be able to bear not being without you-“

Venom growls again, the reverberations running through both of them. He brushes over Eddie’s cock, plays with his balls, and slips that long, sweet tongue inside his ass.

“Oh, darling.” Eddie whispers. “Fuck I- I never thought I’d want this before. Always felt- weak for wanting it.”

**_Not weak_** , Venom rumbled in his head. **_Never weak. Strong. So much stronger together_**.

Eddie nods, it had used to be his nightmare, being like this. Pregnant and so tightly bound to his lover he couldn’t imagine living without them. But the reality-

The reality is that his lover is an alien who lives inside his heart; and them both on a spaceship where no one cares. On Earth, it would be a nightmare, here-

“I love you.” He chokes, as Venom’s tongue thrusts in and out, working him open. Two more tentacles pull at his hole, slipping cold and slippery inside him. He whines, high and desperate in his throat.

**_Love you so much, Eddie_** , and Venom slides a massive, throbbing tentacle inside him.

Eddie’s head drops back. Arches his back and offers himself with legs spread wide. He’s not quite ready, and there’s a sweet, delicious _burn_ as Venom pushes inside, splitting him open, stretching him. Eddie pulls Venom closer, until the snakelike bulk of him is pressed up tight against Eddie, his tentacle buried up to the hilt inside him. “Oh fuck yeah.” He breathes.

“Yessss,” Venom purrs, and shudders as Eddie cards his hands through the upper layers of his flesh, pinching and kneading the little beads between his fingers. He gives a low, rumbling groan that shakes the bunk, and gets a muffled thump from above them. Eddie grins, stroking him again and again, pressing his face against Venom’s neck and pushing his tongue inside him. “Eddie-“

“I got you love.” Eddie murmurs, letting the words reverberate through them. Venom shifts and he gasps, the tentacle pressing deeper, rubbing and coiling against his prostate. “Oh please-“ his cock is so hard it hurts-

Venom slips over him, his cock swallowed down in the thick liquid flesh, the little nodules pressing close against the head until Eddie is thrusting blindly inside him. Eddie sucks at Venom’s flesh, draws it into his mouth and biting gently, feeling the hardened nubs press against his teeth, rub against his tongue. Venom keens, head thrown back, their bodies moving together in this- dance. Their two bodies rutting together into one, a single desperate race towards completion.

“I’m gonna-“ Eddie pants, lifting his head free from Venom’s flank to gasp for air.

“Yes.” Venom presses his head against Eddie’s, forehead to forehead.

Eddie blinks through sweat-flecked hair, grins. “Love you.” He’s so close, clenching against Venom’s tentacle cock, balls drawing tight.

“Yes.” Venom tightens around his cock, fills him up to the brim, pressing hard against his prostate. “Come for me.”

Eddie digs his fingers hard into Venom, pulling him over the edge too as they shudder and arch against each other. The world drowns in hot, wet pleasure, their bodies bucking and wrenching together and the orgasm so heavy and gasping they almost drown in it.

Coming back to themselves, they curl up in a tangle of limbs and tentacles. Skin thrumming and raw with pleasure. “That was fun.” Eddie mumbles, stealing a kiss as Venom wallows, buried half in and out of him. “You’re the best.”

Their bunk is getting a bit stuffy. Eddie swipes half-heartedly at the privacy button, misses twice, and finally Venom grunts and presses it, letting in a relief of cool air.

The raccoon doesn’t try anything smart, and Eddie dares to hope they’ve gotten away with it. His eyes are just starting to drift closed when there’s a grunt from the upper bunk. “So, you two, right?”

That at least sounds civil. “Right,” Eddie agrees with a yawn.

“Uh- been together long?”

Venom growls a warning, blinking irritably. Eddie strokes him. “Six months.”

“Right right.” The creature gives a long sigh, shifts uncomfortably. “Any idea where I can get one?”

 

* * *

 

 

Eddie wakes up sticky and ravenous. Somehow, in the chaos of yesterday, they’d forgotten to eat. Inside him, Venom stirs, still asleep, but dreaming of small bones crunching between their teeth.

Eddie sighs and stretches, “Message received.” He finds their clothes in a bundle at the end of their bunk, and pulls them on, wincing. He’s done his best to wash them over the past five months, but Drake hadn’t considered washing powder a priority on the spaceship.

The raccoon is still snoring in the bunk above. Eddie puts his bare feet down carefully, not looking for a repeat of last night. The corridors are dark, faint light streaming down from a opening above. Eddie looks up, climbs up and is met with a warm, almost familiar smell, a bit like burnt bread.

Venom shifts, nuzzling the underside of his brain. **_Food?_**

“Hopefully.” Eddie’s belly growls. “Or we can go back to our ship and get something from there.”

**_Rabbits_** , Venom prompts eagerly, head sweeping out of his shoulder. “Four, at least.”

“We’re on it.” The light’s coming from a room just down the corridor. Eddie hesitates, then pokes his head around the door, in case Gamora is waiting for them with a sword again.

She isn’t. Instead it’s Drax, sitting at a table with another alien he hasn’t seen before. Human looking, and smelling of Alpha, but she’s _small_ , a good head shorter than Eddie, head and shoulders shorter than Drax. She smiles at the two of them, glowing antenna rising to meet them, huge black eyes blinking curiously. “Hello.”

Drax turns, and gives a huge smile. “Friends! Come in.”

Eddie shuffles in, Venom huddling a little shyly against his neck. “Hey.”

“You slept well?” Drax waves them in, there are a few stools and Eddie pulls one out and sits down.

“Yeah.” Eddie smiles. There are two large bowls on the table, steaming with warmth and smelling of toast. “Kinda hungry.”

“We have varas gruel.” The Alpha stands up gracefully, pouring a third bowl full of- what looks like tapioca mixed with black crumbly bits. “It is good for young ones.” She nods at Eddie’s belly; he rests a hand against it, protectively. Having an Alpha looking at him like that would be frightening, but she’s small enough that the threat dies inside him.

She smiles, and slides the bowl over to them. Eddie hesitates but- come on. He’s on an alien ship, with actual aliens, is he really going to turn down trying new food?

“We’re an alien.” Venom grumbles.

“Yeah, but you don’t have your own cuisine.” Eddie dips a spoon in the porridge, and tries it.

It tastes- a bit meaty, with a hint of burnt bitterness. The texture is half crunchy, half popping in his mouth like cod roe. It’s strange, but hardly the worst thing Eddie's ever put in his mouth.

“And for you, Klyntar.” Drax smiles and pulls three rabbits out by their ears from under the table. They hang limp and twitching. “Still alive, of course-” as Venom sniffs them- “I heard your people like live meat.”

Venom grins, and snaps up the rabbits, the bodies vanishing down his throat quick as a shark with a minnmow. “Thank you.” Eddie prompts, giving Venom a nudge. “Good examples for the kiddies.”

“Thank you.” Venom repeats dutifully, returning back to Eddie’s shoulders. The heat of the food runs down both of their bodies and pools between them, shared and warm.

Eddie doesn’t dare ask what he’s eating. He’s pretty sure one of the blobs has just moved. The Alpha is looking at him, she’s curious, but there’s something- evaluating in her gaze, and occasionally she turns and looks back up at Drax, pleadingly.

Finally, Eddie can't take it anymore, and puts down his spoon. “What?” Her eyes aren’t threatening, but it is off-putting.

Drax sighs. “She wishes to see us fight.”

Eddie starts back. Venom snarls and swarms around him, hulking up in warning. Teeth bared and savage.

The Alpha recoils, Drax sighs. “I told you Mantis. I would lose, and he will take you.”

“Sorry, _what?_ ” Eddie pushes Venom back, grabs the edge of the table to steady themselves as he struggles back into himself. “I’ve got a mate, thank you!”

“Yes, but with an Alpha, you have to fight.” Drax explains patiently. “How else can you prove who is strong enough to bear the best children?”

Eddie doesn’t have anything to say to that. “That’s- not how it goes where I come from.” Venom shakes his head in agreement.

“Quill told me. It sounds absurd. An Alpha’s only part in breeding is the mating; they should be small and inoffensive.” He puts a loving hand on Mantis’ shoulder and she smiles, leaning into the touch. “We are the ones who must be stronger, in the carrying and the birthing.”

Eddie smiles, “I like the sound of your world.”

Drax looks away. “So did I.”

Right. Genocidal alien massacring entire planets. Venom shivers, and Eddie wraps an arm around him, pulling him in close. “Shh, darling.”

“So until I find an Omega to fight, we cannot be mated.” Drax sighs. “I challenged Quill, but he ran away.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Drax is bigger than most Alphas Eddie’s seen. “I could lose if you want?”

“No!” Drax recoils, “That is the greatest dishonor! I would never be able to look at her again.”

“Okay.” Eddie slumps back on his stool. “Maybe if you take me to Earth, we can find out an Omega you can beat?”

Drax nods slowly, “That would be good. But it will have to wait until we kill Thanos. Or we’ll all die.”

It’s said so matter of factly. Just stating the obvious. Venom shudders, and Eddie hugs him tighter, for both of them now. Venom hugs back, and swarms back inside him, Eddie can feel him resting around his child, their children together, inside them both.

 

* * *

 

 

Maybe it’s because of living in a spaceship for months, or maybe something else, but Eddie’s getting tired more easily, these days. They’d been exploring the ship when the exhaustion him, the vague sense all their energy was bleeding out all over the floor.

So they’d ended up collapsing in a corner of the nearest room, sucking in air to try and steady themselves. The walking tree looks up from his alien game boy, so- teenaged walking tree? “I am Groot.” He nods in greeting.

“Hey.” Eddie closes his eyes. “We’re Venom. Nice to meet you.”

“I am Groot.”

“Okay, cool.” Eddie closes his eyes. Everything feels hard and cold and unwelcoming, and far too open. He wants somewhere close, and warm, familiar and comfortable and-

**_Eddie?_ **

“Yeah.” Eddie rubs his face. “Welcome to mammalian nesting instincts, babe.”

“I am Groot?”

“Not you.” Venom wraps around him, doing his best to _be_ a nest. Eddie smiles weakly. “I just- I never thought I’d miss stupid Earth biology but- it’s a kinda tradition, when you’re knocked up. Breed and start planning a nice nesting place at home. There’s whole catalogues, you can hire nest planners to get your perfect place.” Eddie sighs. “I always thought it was a load of crap to get money from the Omega market but- there’s something in it.”

"It would be nice to have that problem.” Venom agrees wistfully, he can see the pictures in Eddie’s head. “Choosing colours, material texture-“

“Five pillows or six.” Eddie sighs.

“Round or square-“

“If you need eight or the full ten blankets to get that ‘perfectly luxurious experience- because you expect the best when you’re expecting.’”

They catch each other’s eyes, and laugh helplessly. Groot stares at them, shaking his head. “I am Groot.” He proclaims.

“Ah, you’ll get it when you’re older.” Eddie strokes Venom, who nuzzles him lovingly. “I just wish-“ The thought of going through the birth somewhere unknown; in the bunk of a spaceship or whatever passes for a hospital on an alien planet- it makes something inside Eddie shrivel up in misery.

Venom curls around him, he doesn’t have a nesting drive, but the hive instincts are very real for him. Birthing should be with others around him, Workers pressing and coaxing him to release his spawn, licking them clean and washing him new-

“I’m sorry.” Eddie kisses him.

Venom shakes himself, skin ruffling irritably. “No. Never had anyone, after that first time. They hated me by then. At least you will be here, this time.”

“Always.”

“And next time, there _will_ be a nest.” Venom says firmly. “We will build it for you, warm and deep and soft. All for you.”

Eddie closes his eyes, letting the sweet images watch over him; the softness of the blankets, the deep give of the mattress, his own scent coating everything and comforting him with its familiarity, and above all- Venom, wrapped around him, murmuring love in his ear, stroking and caressing and kissing him everywhere-

“Yes.” Venom murmurs, “But we have company.”

Right, although Groot has gone back to his game. Eddie’s just wondering if it’s worth going back to their bunk and doing the best they can there, when the ship starts to tremble. Eddie starts up- are they being attacked?

The tree rolls his eyes. “I am _Groot_.” He says, slow and exaggerated, as though Eddie’s just too stupid.

“Yeah, thanks for that, really helpful.” Still, at least he’s not worried. Eddie gets up, Venom steadying them against the bulkhead.  The cockpit can’t be too far from here-

“You!” Venom rears up, engulfing them in alarm. Eddie bares their teeth at Gamora.

She stares impassively back at them, but there’s a small twitch in her hand, inching it just a little closer to her sword. “We are coming on Xandar now. Assuming you don’t want to be torn apart and staked out as a warning to Thanos’ forces, I’d wear something other than each other.”

Venom snarls, and laps down inside Eddie, hovering just under his skin in case Gamora gets any ideas. Eddie takes a deep breath, and follows her. They’re about to see an alien planet, that’s going to be worth doing.

“We’ve seen an alien planet.’ Venom grumbles, “Big and wet, burning air. Nice aliens though.” He licks Eddie’s cheek.

“Well, now you’ll get to see two.” Quill and the raccoon are in the cockpit. And beyond them, through the windscreen-

_Oh._ That’s an alien planet, then.

“That’s- Xandar?” Eddie tries, walking up to the great, metallic planet growing in front of them. Blue greens for the seas, brown-greens for the land and everything edged with the faint, shimmering sheen of silver. It’s beautiful.

“Yeah, bunch of assholes, seriously.” Quill grumbles.

“They are also the only ones likely the listen about Thanos.” Gamorra puts in, steering them in closer.

Quill shrugs, flicking a series of switches. “This is the Milano, coming in for entry.”

There’s a crackle of something that’s definitely not English in response, but Quill nods. “And we have a another human with us, and-“ he glances at Venom. “A Klyntar symbiote.”

That gets a much louder burst of jabbering. Quill sighs, “Yes, _Klyntar_... They're bonded- Yes, bonded... Unless they usually breed with their hosts... Yes, they’ve already agreed... Okay. Okay. Yeah, fuck off.”

He flicks the switches off. “Well, they’re interested,” he informs Eddie and Venom. “They’re having a scientist meet us- and probably a hundred soldiers too but hey. Xandar, planet of paranoid dicks.”

“It’s not paranoia if they are out to get you.” Gamora murmurs.


	3. Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Venom reach Xandar and struggle with their responsibility to their unborn children, and the rest of the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to dogmatix for the beta!

The scientist waiting for them is a bloated, purplish squid- _thing_ squirming in a chair hovering a foot off the ground. Far too many bulging eyes look at them in interest as Eddie and Venom risk a step out of the ship- and stop.

It’s one thing for Drax and Gamora to tell them about how Venom’s species is feared throughout the galaxy, it’s quite a fucking other to see the _entire fucking army_ waiting for them outside.

“Shit!” Eddie tries to take a step back, but Gamora’s hand snaps hard as a trap around his wrist and hauls him down the walkway towards the _way too many_ guns.

“Don’t try anything.” She hisses. “They’re ready for everything you’re trying to do.”

Which he doubts- mostly because Eddie’s pretty sure all he’s about to do is be sick. Fuck, what have they gotten themselves into? Why didn’t they just stay in Drake’s ship-

**_It would have been like this anywhere we went_**. Venom whispers inside him, coiled up tight in Eddie’s abdomen, close around their children. **_At least they are not firing yet_**.

“Get out here.” Eddie’s hands knot into his shirt. “I’m not doing this alone.”

Venom hesitates, then cautiously snakes out of his back, huddling around his shoulders. There’s a rumble of horror from the army and _really?_ There must be _hundreds_ of soldiers, and only the two of them, and right now, Eddie feels very, very small.

The scientist seems to feel the same. It burbles something irritably, flicking a tentacle. At least, Eddie’s _ears_ hear a sound like bubbles in oil, but his _head_ hears, “Oh by the stars, _look_ at it before you *pass excrement in public* yourselves!”

Eddie glances at Venom, who shrugs, “I understand your languages, you understand mine. Mostly.” That last bit had been a lot more _visual_ than words.

“Your people are big on languages, huh?” Eddie rests a hand on Venom’s neck, and manages to the last few feet down to the alien planet.

And- okay. That is cool. The planet is a lot like Earth but with- deliberate mistakes. The sky is just slightly off, more green than blue. The plants a bit more red, the gravity just a little bit less than Earth, making Eddie feel lightheaded. Another planet. Eddie always wanted to be an astronaut; new planets and spaceships and sexy aliens. He bites back the hysterical urge to giggle.

One of the soldiers- the blue and gold uniform a bit more ornate than the others- takes a cautious step forward, gripping their gun a bit too tight, body language pretty much shouting _I’m expecting you to bite my head off_ as loud as humanly- alienly?- possible.

“Put that gun down.” The scientist thing wriggles its tentacles in irritation. “That’s clearly not a Rogue, just look at it.”

“Him.” Eddie snaps. “He’s not a thing.”

The scientist looks at him, bloated eyes blinking in surprise, as though he hadn’t expected Eddie to be able to talk. “Him.” He agrees. “Calm your people down, Centurion.”

“You are sure?” A woman’s voice comes from under the helmet. It _sounds_ like a faint high squeal of a rusty door, but the meaning is completely clear in Eddie’s head. She shifts uncomfortably, doesn’t put the gun down, but at least it’s not pointed at them any more.

“By the pit-“ The scientist’s chair whines and lurches forwards, Eddie recoils as he’s nearly treated to a facefull of tentacles. “Look at it- at him. Hide smooth as *sunlight gleaming on rippled water*, clear eyes, neat teeth. No oxygen scarring anywhere. You’re his first host?” At Eddie.

“Third.” Venom admits. There’s a sinking guilt at the thought of his previous host and- what if these creatures found out about Maria? The host he had killed-

“None of that.” Eddie says firmly. _You were starving, dying_. He continues inside their head. _It wasn’t your fault_.

“You see? Rogues have hundreds of hosts, go through them like snack food. All that oxygen exposure when transferring between hosts is where they get the scars. *pock marked surface of an asteroid* Corroded metal* *Worm eaten flesh*. Ugly. Not yours of course,” he assures Eddie, “Quite beautiful.”

Eddie manages a smile. “Thanks.”

“And you’re egg-bound?” A tentacle waves a bit too close to Eddie’s face, down over his chest and his stomach, now a little tight against his worn shirt.

“Not eggs.” Venom grumbles, “Babies, inside.”

“Live birth? Fascinating.” Something beeps, Eddie notices the tentacle has a little twist of gold wire wrapped around it, it flashes as it beeps again. “We don’t know much about your reproductive processes. This will be *new, bright, a big bang of possibilities*-“

“Yes yes.” The Centurion’s finally put the gun away. “Definitely a Klyntar survivor, then?”

“Of course. Now please go away. Don’t you have a shiny rock to guard?”

The Centurion grumbles, too low for Eddie to hear or Venom to translate. She waves a hand, and the entire force turns hard on their heel and marches away. It’s freakishly efficient.

“Lovely.” The scientist rubs his tentacles together, and turns back to Eddie and Venom. “Do you have *personal concepts* or *individual identifiers*?”

“What?” That last one didn’t really translate well.

“Names.” Venom corrects.

“I’m Eddie. Eddie Brock. This is Venom.”

“I am *scientist* *expert* St _iii_ v _iii_ n _iiii_ -“

“Stop!” That was like a dog whistle being blown right into his ears. Just too far on the edge of hearing. His brain hurts. “Doctor- Steven?”

The scientist grumbles, inflates and deflates in irritation. “Acceptable. Now, everyone will be happier if you come with me and I can send evidence you aren’t here to *blood splattered everywhere* us.”

“Okay.” Eddie’s getting a headache from all this. Venom tenses as they start away from the ship, the only safe place they know, so far from home. Eddie glances back at Quill and the others, and Drax waves in encouragement. Eddie takes a deep breath, fight down the panic that seems to come from both of them. Isolated. Alone. Far from anywhere safe. Both of them slow and getting slower as the pregnancy advances. The desperate need for a nest.

**_Safe_**. Venom strokes his neck from inside, easing the knots of tension in his muscles. **_Always safe together._**  He pushes their teeth through Eddie’s gums, sharper, deadlier. If anything happens, they can defend themselves. Eddie nods, allowing himself to be reassured, and follows Doctor Steven.

 

* * *

 

“Remove your *artificial hide*.” Dr Steven waves at Eddie’s clothes, running tentacles quickly over a series of sheets of glass, which start to shimmer and blink numbers and glyphs.

Eddie pulls off his ancient, tatty shirt. Pauses, then takes his pants off too. He doubts Dr Steven, as an octopus-alien, cares much about human nudity. His stomach’s protruding clearly over the worn edge of his underwear, skin taut and stretch marks starting to spiderweb along the underside. Venom purrs, and wraps over his belly, snuggling in. _Warm_.

“Only the best for our kiddo.” Eddie agrees, Coaxing Venom up. “Come on, Doctor Steven’s going to want a look.”

Venom swarms up his body, until Eddie’s got a big, welcoming armful of symbiote. He gives Venom a tight hug, and a reassuring kiss.

“I’d like a look at both of you.” Steven adjusts a large gold hoop that looks like a much larger example of the twist he used to scan Eddie. “This is a fascinating example of cross-breeding between species. I’m not missing any of it.”

Venom squirms uncomfortably, a brief flash of memory of the last time they were scanned. “This doesn’t use sound, right?” Eddie squeezes him.

“Sound?” It’s hard to tell, but Steven looks insulted. “What kind of *squid bashing rocks together* civilization do you think this is? Light-tech, thank you, so your Klyntar doesn’t need to worry.”

Venom relaxes a little and Eddie walks over to the seat beside the hoop. It looks a bit like a dentist’s chair. He sits down, and slowly lies back, trying to relax. “What are you going to do?”

“Just take a look at your *squirming baby octopus-thing*. They have been developing for *the glare of a sun, growing fiercer, then fading and cooling*?”

“Wait- Vee, what was that?”

“Six months.” Venom translates. “Their interpretation of that time.”

“Yeah.” Eddie rubs his belly; he hasn’t felt any kicking yet. Shouldn’t they be able to feel the child moving?

“It’s fine.” Venom murmurs. “Perfectly healthy.”

“And your gestation period is-“

“Nine months- another third of the time to go.” He explains because- yeah, Earth time probably doesn’t mean much to Steven.

“Good, let’s take a look.”

The yellow hoop splits into a half dozen more, thinner hoops, fanning out like a flower, and start to spin. A faint yellow glow flickers between them, and the hoops lifts off the ground, and starts to circle around them, flashing occasionally with brighter light.

“Klyntar Venom, please settle next to Brock, so we can see yours.”

Venom trembles, he doesn’t know what this is. It could be a weapon, it could hurt them- hurt the children- Eddie kisses him. “It’s okay.” He gently lifts Venom off his chest and settles him next to his head, stroking him comfortingly. “It’s okay, darling. I’m not going to let anything happen to us, any of us.”

“Hurt you?” Steven sounds insulted. “You may be the last Klyntar in existence. Hurting you would be *smashing a priceless piece of shell-art*.”

“Please shut up.” Eddie snaps, as Venom huddles pancake flat on the chair, fighting the urge not to dive back inside Eddie. “You’re not helping.”

“Sorry.”

The hoops spin and flash, circling around them faster and faster- then slowing again with a hiss, slotting back into one hoop, but still circling them slowly. “Is that it?”

“Finished.” Steven runs his tentacles over the glass. “Come and see your spawnling.”

Venom slides back inside Eddie with a burst of relief. Focusing inside to check that they’re okay, running cool and sweet over Eddie’s heart, lungs, liver- and down over the child resting inside him. Eddie smiles, and gets up eagerly. If they’d been on Earth, they’d have been to several ultrasounds by now, and although Eddie never thought he’d be the kind of Omega to coo over unborn photos-

Well, apparently he is.

And he was kinda expecting something like an ultrasound, when he came up beside Dr Stevens and looked over his tentacle version of a shoulder at the screen. The grainy dots of an image, blurry and shifting, only just able to pick out the body parts with the doctor’s assistance.

This is- definitely not that. Okay, maybe Steven’s right to be insulted by the comparison to ultrasounds, because Eddie gets a full blown colour picture. The red of his own body, veined blue and deeper carmine, the translucent twist of the umbilical cord and-

“Wait.” Eddie blinks. “That’s mine?”

Doctor Steven looks at him, “What were you expecting?”

Which… is fair. He’d never really thought about it, and if he had he’d have realized it was stupid but- he’d kinda imagined he was having a _human_ kid, Venom a symbiote kid, and everything clear cut and simple.

And that's stupid, of course. With mixed race kids you don’t get one kid white, one kid black. It’s all mixed in, so it makes perfect sense that Eddie’s looking at a reddish-black tangle of symbiote curled around the umbilical cord. They pulse in tandem with Eddie’s heartbeat, occasionally moving and forming a hand, an approximation of a head. “Guess that’s why I didn’t feel it kick.” Eddie mumbles. “No feet.”

“Eddie?” Venom looks at him, and Eddie tastes the sour edge of worry in the back of his throat. “Is this- okay?”

He’s an idiot. “Of course it is, darling.” Eddie smiles and shoves the shock away. This is their _kid_. Their baby, alive and warm and thriving. Wasn’t this what everyone said? _Oh I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s healthy._ Of course, they were usually talking about genders, but it works here. “They’re beautiful.”

“Takes after you.” Venom looks down at their child. “They have your colour.”

“But they’re more like you,” Eddie points out, “A symbiote.”

“Some.” Venom admits, “But like you too. They breathe air, and oxygen doesn’t hurt them. They can take a host, but won’t need one.” It’s a bit wistful.

Eddie smiles and hugs Venom. “Isn’t that what everyone wants?” he whispers against him, “For our kids to be better off than us?” And gets a brilliant smile in response.

Now the shock’s passed, the eagerness is back. Their kid, God, he’s always wanted a kid, but now it’s _real_. Right in front of him; living and breathing and- his. Theirs. It’s exhilarating and Eddie can’t stop smiling.

“Judging by development, I’d say you’re correct about gestation period.” Dr Steven breaks in. “Half again the time and it should be finished growing, but it may take a little time for it to be ready to *snapping teeth devouring squirming live prey*. How do your species feed their young?”

“Milk.” Eddie rubs his chest. His tits haven’t started growing yet, but they are starting to feel tender. It’s a good feeling, and he’s glad they’re going to get that experience too. Having a child latch and suckle from him, feeding and nurturing and- “Um, teeth?” He glances at Venom.

“They won’t hurt you.”

“Standard mammalian.” Steven shrugs. “Everything seems in order and developing nicely. Now, your turn.” To Venom.

Eddie leans in as Steven sweep the images away, and new ones blink up.

His were red, these are black. Black on black, with only the faint slick gleam showing the twist and curl of tendrils and muscles inside Venom. Venom tenses in Eddie’s eyes, alarmed. “They’re there.” He whispers. “I know they are here, why can’t-“

“Must take after you.” Steven shrugs, he doesn’t seem bothered, and Eddie relaxes a little. “Ah, here.” A flash of colour.

Venom lunges forward, almost pulling free from Eddie’s hands. It’s a bit hard to see, the child must the same colour as Venom, deep slick black, but here and there is a sliver of green, of yellow, the blink of red. “Oh.” Venom whispers, muzzle almost touching the scream. “Beautiful.”

“Of course he is, sweetheart.” Eddie kisses his neck, the back of his head. “He takes after you.”

“Both of you, by the looks of it.” Stevens is looking over a range of glyphs next to the picture. “He’s got the same oxygen resistances as the first one, congratulations. More developed though-“ He breaks off, scrolls backwards and forwards through new lists of blinking symbols.

“Is that bad?” Venom turns on him, teeth bared. “If he is hurt-“

“No, not hurt.” Steven doesn’t look bothered. “Just closer to coming out. Give it a few more *the spin of an inner planet around a small red star*.”

Eddie rubs his head. “What was that?”

“Weeks.” Venom whispers, and the shock runs through him and into Eddie, stunned and amazement. “Three or four.”

Eddie blinks, and everything is suddenly wild hot _panic_ and holy shit but they’re not ready. They’re alone on another planet, they have no home, nowhere to go; no safe place to birth and keep secure for their kids-

And Venom bites his bare shoulder, not hard but enough to shock him back to _now_. “Calm down!”

“Is he okay?” Steven looks at Eddie.

“Nesting instinct.” Venom explains as Eddie lowers his head and takes a few deep, steadying breaths. Okay. Okay. “We are far from home, and his people need a safe place for birth.”

“Well, calm down.” Steven put a tentacle on Eddie’s shoulder, and gently pushes him back to the seat. Eddie sits down, head spinning. He feels sick. “Home is- the planet that Starlord idiot is from, correct?”

“Yes. Earth.” Venom runs warm coils up and down Eddie’s back, heavy and soothing as a weighted blanket.

“Bit of a trek, but I’m sure we can pack you off there quickly enough. Should get there comfortably before the birth.”

And that- oh fuck but the _relief_. It’s blind and dumb and stupid because there’s no way he’s still got his apartment after being gone and probably legally dead for six months, but the thought of going home is so _good_ he doesn’t care. Besides, maybe Annie can help them out until they get back on their feet, and even if not, there are communes who will take them in and provide them with a den to nest in. God, Earth. _Home_.

“Or,” Doctor Steven continues, and there’s a definite _hint_ there. “You could stay here. We’ve got quite a few mammal species living here, I’m sure we can set you up a nice nest.”

“On who’s dime?” Eddie rubs his face, feeling exhausted.

“Mine, of course.” Steven’s four eyes blink at them in surprise. “This is the research opportunity of a *long life cycle*, you’ll be housed and given good pay, and I’ll give you regular check ups. Your spawn will be born safe, I get famous for documenting symbiote reproduction, and you go home afterwards, everyone fed and happy.”

Venom pauses, looks at Eddie. He wants this, Eddie realizes. Venom’s head droops, but he can't assure Eddie they can go, either. Eddie can feel the tumult of emotions twisting in Venom; there’s fear, fear of this place, of what might be waiting for them on Earth, but under that- he wants to fight. Drax’s tales, Quill and Gamora’s. Thanos murdering planet after planet. Venom doesn’t want their children to be born in a universe with such a monster in it. Venom runs his tongue over his teeth, and for a moment, they only look at each other, helplessly.

“Look,” Eddie says at last. “We need to think about this, okay? Could you check both options for us? A flight home and- a place to stay here? Maybe when we see them we can make up our minds.”

Steven perks up; he must have been expecting them to dismiss his idea out of hand. “Of course! I’ll just file this data away, and I’ll follow up on your options.” He turns and starts flashing through blinking glyphs on the screens.

Eddie waits for a few moments, “Where do we go?”

“What? Oh this shouldn’t take long. Go and look around. You haven’t been to Xandar before, I heard.”

“No. But- that’s okay? We can go?”

“You’ve been cleared by the Nova Corps, so you’re fine. Go and take a look around. I’ll call you back in *tide rising over pink headland rocks*.”

“Uh, what?” Even Venom didn’t understand that one.

“Here.” A tentacle slaps a small piece of metal in Eddie’s hand. It looks a bit like a smartphone watch without the strap. “I’ll call you when I’m done. Now go away.”

 

* * *

 

 

They might have been cleared by the Nova Corps, but it seems like everyone has heard about them. Eddie and Venom step out of the narrow, needle like tower of Dr Steven’s lab to a wide metal and glass walkway, and everyone on it stops and stares at them.

“Um.” Eddie has no idea what to say. Some aliens are more human, like Drax and Gamora, other a whole lot less, like Dr Steven. He gives an awkward wave. Venom shifting uncomfortably over his shoulder, about to slide back in. “Oh hell no.” Eddie grabs him, “You are _not_ leaving me to be a freakshow.”

At the sight of Venom, the crowd starts whispering, eyeing them with fear, curiosity, fascination. “They don’t look mad.” Eddie mumbles, “Come on, I think we’re okay.”

The crowd parts like the Red Sea when they walk out, but he’s right. No one seems to want- or dare- to hurt them. Eddie stares straight ahead and tries to ignore the whispers, many of them in languages even Venom doesn’t know. “Let’s find somewhere quiet.”

They find a sort of park, lodged high up a craggy shard of rock and linked up by a long, snaking walkway. It’s pretty much abandoned, and Eddie sits down on the roots of a massive tree, the bark and leaves red veined in green. Just a few feet away, the ground drops away to a wide, dazzling view of the city around theme, silvery walkways cutting over the wild junglescape, the buildings gleaming like cut diamonds in the sunlight.

“Beautiful.” Venom murmurs.

“But it’s not home.” Eddie counters. “It’s- fuck, Vee. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but at least no one on Earth knows about you. Here- okay, they’re being nice now, but what if they change their mind?”

Venom sighs. “Nowhere is safe.”

Eddie looks away, but nods. Dr Steven’s words still echo between them. _The last Klyntar_. Venom’s homeworld. Drax’s. Even this place nearly fallen to that- mad space Hitler. Earth had been targeted by aliens before- New York, London, San Francisco. If Riot’s attack was something to do with this Thanos, what about the other two? Eddie pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to fight down the bone-deep, animal instinct to _run_ , to find a safe place _somewhere_.

“What do you suggest then?” He says finally. “You know what I want, babe. If everywhere’s the same, why not home? And Annie- she probably thinks we’re dead, babe. She could help us and I’d- really like to see her again.” He rests a hand on his stomach. Annie would love their kid, he knows.

Venom is quiet. “And run,” He says finally. “Run and hide, with this monster destroying everything?”

God- six months ago Eddie would have been right with him. Champing at the bit for the chance to do something, ready to throw himself into this new fight. “We have kids.” He says simply.

Those beautiful eyes close, Venom leans in to rest his head on Eddie’s chest. “Oh darling.” Eddie hugs him. “I swear, I’d tear that fucker to pieces with my _teeth_ if we had the chance, but-“

“The danger.” He says dully. “Our children.”

“If we go home, we have friends.” Eddie says firmly. “We go home, we nest and have our children and then- if we have to, we can fight. We can look after our kids and keep them safe in a place we know. I like Doctor Steven, but-“

“No.” Venom agrees, and _fuck_ but Eddie can feel the misery curled up sick and heavy inside him. “You are right. But I- we had a world. A home. And it is _gone_. How long until Earth is next?”

“He’ll be stopped.” Eddie strokes him, “Lunatics like that always are. And yeah, when the children are born? When they’re old enough to have hosts? We’ll make sure of that.”

Venom sighs, and relaxes into Eddie’s arms. Beyond the trees, the sun is going down in a brilliance of scarlet and gold-green. The first stars starting to come out in unfamiliar patterns. “I want to do everything you want.” Eddie continues. “But we’re parents now.”

Venom shivers and the word blooms bright joy between them. _Parents_.

“We’ll keep them safe.” Venom murmurs. “From everything.”

“Not sure that’s possible, babe, but- yeah, we’ll fucking well try.”

The sun slips further down, the night is closing around them, dim and warm. Lights blink on along the walkways below them. Among the stars above, Eddie can pick out more spaceships coming and going from the city.

“I- had children before.” Venom says finally.

“I know, darling.”

“It wasn’t like this. I never knew them. Barely saw them, before the Workers took them away.” He shivers. “Then when Drake came-“

Eddie’s heart aches, and lowers his head and kisses Venom between his eyes.

Venom leans into him. “They were called Phage, and Agony. I didn’t name them and no one said anything but- I knew they were mine. And they died.”

“Oh, sweetheart-“ He wants to pull Venom close and- he doesn’t know. They’re already so close he doesn’t know what to offer him that Venom doesn’t already have.

“But us, now- it can be something more. Something so much better.” Venom touches his head to Eddie’s. There’s a brief flash of light above them as a tight knot of spaceships enter the atmosphere, blazing red. “I knew it would be good when we first- decided to do this. I never imagined-”

“I love you too.” Eddie whispers, kisses him fiercely, lips on teeth. The last of the sun slips down over the horizon, leaving them in the dark but for the dying glow over the horizon, the distant walkway lights, the glowing mass of spacecraft above them.

“I can’t lose them.” Venom admits. “Can’t lose you.”

“You’re not going to.” Eddie wraps Venom in his arms, pulls him in until Venom is wrapped up against his chest, his head pressed into the hollow of Eddie’s throat. So close, so warm. Together.

The sky above the city dances with spaceships, bright as a thousand fireflies. Beautiful in the last heartbeat of sunset.

Before the last of the light dies and fire pours down from the ships; so hot they can feel it even from here. Burning so bright the plants' leaves shrivel from it, and the city below  _burns._


	4. Widower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all falls apart.

The fire rains down on the city in shimmering streams, like Northern Lights coming down to touch the Earth. It’s so beautiful that it takes Eddie a moment to realize that this is badly, badly _wrong_.

Then the screams come, high and distant and growing, more and more until the whole city is screaming, until the lit alleys are ablaze and cracking with light. It takes Eddie a moment to realize that they’re moving, that they’re up and running down the walkway leading back to the city, as fast as they can. A blast of light sears past them, hitting the little park they had been sitting it. It blazes up red- yellow- white-

And gone. Nothing but smoldering ruins and afterimages burned into their eyes. More ships spinning high above, homing in on the stricken city to rain down more death. The walkway splits open behind them, they can feel the heat of the melting stone through their feet.

Venom is struggling to pour out of him, Eddie can feel him dart over his arms, his hands, flash over his head and the world flickers out, and back into the shared vision of _them_. The colours deeper, the darkness no longer clouding their eyes. But most of him is wrapped around their stomach, keeping the children safe. Eddie struggles to keep running, but his breath is coming too fast, his legs aching from the extra weight.

Someone suddenly darts in their way, a slender insect, its diaphanous wing half burned away, trying to fly but collapsing down in a trembling heap. Eddie tries to avoid it, but the building besides them ruptures, exploding in a fireball and throwing the three of them into a tangle of arms and legs. The frail creature’s exoskeleton crunches under their weight, the body bursting into goo with a soft, helpless cry.

They keep rolling, stained with blood but free from the clinging limbs. The heat is _too much_ , Eddie feels Venom trembling around him, he wants to pull back inside Eddie, take shelter against the hungry flames-

 _It’s okay._ Eddie thinks to him, _You can go inside, I’ll keep you safe-_

**_No. We can do this. Keep us safe. All of us._ **

Eddie nods grimly. The ships are starting to land, the laser blasts now ground-to-ground. They’re going to need to fight. “ ** _Then let’s get out of here.”_**

Its a few steps away that they meet their first fight. Two of the soldiers backing away step by step, firing furiously into the oncoming hoard. They look like huge cockroaches, with a dozen arms and massive, snapping jaws. No eyes. No ears. One of the soldiers screams and falls, claws cracking his armor open and spilling yellowish blood everywhere.

They bare their own teeth, bigger, sharper. They lunge and the thing’s scales crack like popcorn between their teeth. Through it, and into the next one. The surviving soldier hesitates for a moment, then lowers her gun and lays down a hail of suppressing fire. Eddie flinches as a blast comes a little too close to their shoulder, but she’s a good shot, and it takes out a creature about to leap on them.

Then they’re through, the dead creatures scattered in spare parts around them. More rush around the corner- they don’t pause, aren’t alarmed by the bodies or the blood smeared over Venom and Eddie. Just a mindless, screaming attack.

“ ** _What are they?”_** They roar, claws through the new wave.

“Outriders!” The woman shouts, letting loose a flurry of short, sharp shots, mowing down the creatures. “Thanos’ mindless beasts.”

 _Thanos_.

Here too. _Here_. This formidable world, armed to the teeth and paranoid to the extreme, and still-

The city is burning, the monsters scream through the streets. The army broken and backing away in small knots. “Over here!” Their soldier yells. “Form up! Defensive stance behind the Klyntar!”

Something much bigger crashes through a wall only a few feet from them. The dust blinds them from whatever it is, but it hardly matters- they go in teeth-first, the soldier’s guns lighting up the cloud of debris in lighting flashes of yellow.

They hit something huge and solid, like the Outriders but twice as large. It reels when they hit it, giving them time to claw up and up it’s chest and latch their teeth around its neck. The scales crack, the bones snap, it falls like a cut tree.

The blood is foul but sweet at the same time, the meat heavy and rich in their throat, they swallow the mouthful and throw their head back in a scream of triumph. It’s like that first time, in the lobby with the police, only- they are so much more now. Six months and they move as one, strength feeding off each other until they can kick through walls, crack rock between their teeth.

_“By the stars-“_

_“It’s on our side! Form up! Form up!”_

Two more of the large ones, one falls under a hail of gunfire, and they use its falling body as a springboard to hit the other full in the face. It tries to bite them, teeth scrabbling against their ever-reforming flesh, but their rip it’s mouth open with two hands, and tear out its tongue with their teeth. Blood explodes over them like a fountain and they _feed_ on rich solid muscle. The next hail of fire almost severs the things head and then jump free as it falls.

Still more, but no longer going for them. They’re moving towards the middle of the city, towards a huge, jagged tower standing like a spear among the smaller buildings.

They pause, catch their breath. They rest a hand on their stomach, the children are stirring fretfully, but in this form, they are safe. “ ** _What are they doing?”_**

The soldier follows their gaze, and stiffens, her hands knotting on her gun. “They’re going towards Nova Corp HQ. I- the stone. They’re after the _Infinity Stone_ -“ She doesn’t wait for them, waving the patchwork force forwards.

They pauses, for a moment not one but two, two trains of thought, two senses of self. Infinity Stones, Eddie thinks. Quill had said something about that-

 ** _Whatever that thing wants, we do not want him to have_**. Venom snaps grimly. **_We need to go, need to stop him._**

Eddie- Eddie wants to run. Find a ship; get off this planet before they face something they can’t win against. For a moment, they are no longer invincible, no longer fearless-

 ** _We have to be. We have to fight. There is nowhere to run, Eddie. We cannot hide. We must fight. Fight for us. For them._** A hand on their stomach.

Eddie closes his eyes, and lets himself flow back into _them_. Venom.

 

* * *

 

 

More and more of the broken forces are rallying behind them. The Outriders are mindless flesh against their claws, useless dolls they break and toss aside as they wade through the sea of them. The tower is rearing up ahead, the only building not touched by flame.

“They wouldn’t dare.” The soldier sweeps off her helmet, the last charge had dented it on one side, and she spits blood. “They’re after the Stone, they won’t dare burn it down.”

“ ** _Then why do this?”_** The growl, crunching through a skull. “ ** _Why all of-“_**

The burning city, the civilians chased down and screaming, dying. God, they hope Doctor Steven is somewhere safe. They hope Quill and the others got out in time.

“Thanos.” She grits out and shoots another. “He would make every world a graveyard.”

Then there’s nothing more to say, they’re starting up the steps to the headquarters, the stairs are slippery with blood, the stones under burning hot from the fires breaking out everywhere. They drag in a breath and it’s _parched,_ all moisture sucked out of it, nothing but sparks and fire and oxygen rushing up to goad the flames higher and higher.

**_“We need to get out of here.”_ **

“If Thanos gets the stone, there won’t be a planet to get away from.” She rubs at the yellowish blood on her cheek; it flakes away, already dried. “Stop him first, then we can worry about the fire.”

They nod, turn to the huge doors leading in-

But they’re already open. And something is standing there, looking down on the carnage.

It looks already dead, a skeleton clad in grey flesh, hair slowly peeling from its head. Nose already gone. Only the eyes glittering, so deeply sunk into its head that they’re barely visible. It looks at them, and the rotting lips draw back from blackened teeth. It lifts a long spear. “You’re late, Klyntar.”

“ ** _You’re dead, murderer!”_** They roar back, and lunge.

And everything- seems to slow. A moment, suspended. No longer one but two, Eddie hanging inside Venom’s form, staring through their eyes as the thing recoils before their attack.

Then it steadies itself, one foot braced behind it to catch its weight, the spear held loosely in its hands but not leveled at them. Not needed. The gleaming eyes lock on them and the thing’s mouth opens, wider, wider, impossibly wide-

And it _screams._

Suddenly, it’s like being back in the hospital, a thousand worlds away. Eddie can see Dan’s face, his mouth moving behind the glass, but all sound lost. Annie’s horrified face.

And the pain.

It’s like being set on fire. Like every element of him is pulled apart and doused in acid. His flesh liquefies and runs like hot wax over his bones, Eddie stares as the pale white of his own wristbones become visible. He opens his mouth to scream- and the flesh pours off him like water, black washing over his melting eyes and blinding him and no _no_ -

It’s like being dragged into a black hole, his flesh sucked off like cooked meat. The tension builds and builds until he opens his mouth to scream- and only his jawbones move-

And a _crack_ , like the world splitting in half. The pain ruptures him, he feels his bones splinter under the force of it, his organs gouged open and sucked empty-

His throat snaps back to himself, and the scream tears free from his throat, a moment before something hits his head so hard the world explodes in white, and then swallowed down in darkness.

 

* * *

  

There’s something covering his body.

It’s light and soft as sand, piling up around him in drifts. Even so gentle, Eddie moans in pain at the contact, his whole body bloated with pain, as though he had been flayed, layer by layer, then put back together.

His body.

Him.

Not _theirs_.

Eddie opens his eyes, and every vein in his eyes feels like they’re bleeding. Forces himself up, and blinks against the falling ash.

The world around has been obliterated.

There are bodies everywhere, piled high on the steps. He can see the soldiers, the woman with the broken helmet. A few Outriders. All dead. The building is gutted, the last few flames slowly guttering out as the falling ash suffocates them.

Oh God, Oh God. Eddie puts his hand on his stomach, but it doesn’t hurt. He can feel the child stirring, restless and frightened. But oh, Vee, Venom-

He’s- empty. Feels like he’s been hollowed out and split open. Everything inside missing. Please no, please Vee where are you-

The ground around is snowed deep in ash, the air so dry his throat burns with it. Please- please no. Please-

_How long was he out?_

Eddie staggers to his feet- and nearly falls again. His head swims, pounds heavy with hammerblows of pain. The world blurs; nothing but monochrome, grey and white-

And black.

There’s a shattered streak of black huddled only a few meters away, smeared against the ground and hunched towards Eddie, as though it had tried to crawl to him before it- before it-

“No!” Eddie staggers, stumbles in the ash and collapses to his knees. He throws himself forwards and crawls the last few feet. “Vee-“

He reaches out the final inches- and knows. Venom’s stiff and hard as crystal, brittle and crumbling under his fingers. _No no nononono-_

“Please-“ he doesn’t recognize his own voice, choked and weep. “Please, Vee-“

He tries to pull him closer, gather Venom up- but he cracks and crumbles in his arms, flaking away to dust. Eddie moans; a low, shattered sound. His fingers just- go straight through Venom’s skin, and he just _falls apart_.

Eddie chokes, sobs, digs his hands into Venom’s body, trying to find- something, anything. “Please, please darling I can’t- please I need you don’t leave me-“

His hands touch something soft, warm and liquid. Eddie cries and digs in further, tearing through the corpse- _Venom oh Venom please don’t be dead please stay please-_

He stops, his breath catches and he doubles over, heart splitting open and tears stinging in the burning air. Reaches down and cradles the small, shivering infant against his heart. It’s child-shaped, soft and warm in his arms, black as Venom- as Venom was _oh God-_ and streaked here and there with green and red. Oh darling, their little one-

He can’t move, trembling. The child whimpers and cries, and Eddie can’t speak, rocking it gently in his arms. A soft tendril strokes his cheek, brushing away the tears. Eddie tries to smile- but can’t. It comes out all broken. He leans in, letting the tentacles play over his face-

And gone. Eddie opens his eyes, and the child is gone- no, not gone. Eddie can feel them inside him, resting within his body warm and heavy. It doesn’t fill the horrible void where Venom had been- but he’s not alone, not quite.

Eddie sucks in a low, shuddering breath- and the ground cracks under them. Eddie starts up- the Nova Corp building cracks, starting to falls apart as the earth under it shudders. Eddie looks back at Venom- at what is left of him- and he- he doesn’t want to go. Just- a little longer.

He turns away from the world shattering around them, runs his hands one last time over Venom. One last touch between them and oh he _can’t he can’t he can’t_ _I love you I can’t leave you_ -

Most of Venom just- falls apart, the faint touch of Eddie’s hands enough to break him apart. At first, Eddie thinks the blackness on his hands are just the… fragments, btu his hands grow slick, traced over in green and oilslick dark. The child reaches through his hands and runs over his parent’s body. Eddie sobs, the tears running down his cheek and pitting the dust of him. “Oh, darling.” Eddie lowed his head, the ground is shaking harder, the stone under them threatening to crack.

But the fragments under his hands is- softening, drawing up inside them. The hope is an arrow-tip of pain. “Vee?”

No. It’s not him; it’s the child, trying to hold on to their lost parent. Eddie closes his eyes and- lets them. If this is all he can have- he’ll take it. Even that- just some part of him, any at all. Venom’s body dead weight inside him, cold and heavy against his muscles, resting in his veins.

Good.

The cracks reach them, and Eddie forces himself to their feet. The child washes over his spine in a panic as the ground threatens to give way under them. Eddie stumbles upright; a horrible tearing inside him as he turns his back on what is left of Venom, and runs.

The buildings are crumbling around him as he races down the street. The stone underfoot splits, parts jutting up in savage edges, others falling away into nothing. The child thrashes in his chest- it’s trying to help, but it has no idea what to do. Eddie braces a hand over the unborn baby inside him, and forces himself up, struggling along the uneven slope and up.

The cracks are coming closer- the whole city is collapsing around them and God- where can they go? Everything is falling apart and maybe they should have stayed there, with Venom. At least they’d have all gone together-

There’s a roar in the distance, coming closer. Eddie looks up and is almost blinded by the searchlight. “Hey!”

Eddie covers his eyes, squints. It’s a spaceship- no oh god it’s Quill’s ship. And just looking at it makes Eddie want to _scream_ because _they took them here._ Without Quill, he and Vee would be safe on their little broken down ship, together and warm and love and _Vee oh please Vee_ -

Eddie can’t see, the tears burning his eyes. He wants to scream. He wants to fall down and cry. He wants to kill Quill with his bare hands. He wants to turn and go back to Venom, stay here and-

No, he can’t think like that. He rests a hand on his stomach, on his shoulder. He can’t do that, no matter how badly he wants to. It’s not just him anymore, and their children need him. The ship skims closer, dropping lower- they’ve seen him. Eddie grits his teeth and runs for the open door of the ship.

It’s like running through water, like drowning in the weight of the dead. Eddie struggles to keep moving, get them to the ship-

And there’s a bolt of energy through his legs. The child, pouring strength into him. Eddie grits his teeth, and clears the last few feet to the opens door. He gathers the last scraps of their strength, and jumps.

He hits the extended ramp on their side, knocking the wind from his lungs. Eddie curls up, gasping for air. Below them, the city burns bright for one last moment before it finally collapses into darkness and nothing.

Eddie closes his eyes, slides down the inside of the ramp as it closes.

“The whole planet is self destructing!” That’s Quill, it feels like it’s coming from far away. “Get us up fast!”

“The power stone-“ Gamora.

“They got it! There’s nothing we can do and we need to go _now_!”

“Eddie?”

Eddie opens his eyes. Drax is kneeling beside him. He looks at him, and his eyes go wide and he _knows_. “Oh.”

Eddie turns away, he can’t bear the pity. Inside him, he can see feel the wreckage of his dead love, heavy and dull inside him. Lifeless. A corpse he’ll carry for the rest of his life. The sound that escapes him in low, animal pain.

Drax pulls him in gently. He’s huge; and muscled and smells of warmth and Omega. A tight hug, a massive hand rubbing over his back. “The children?”

Eddie touches his shoulder and the little one’s tendrils poke free, an eye peeking out shyly. Drax smiles gently; touches a finger to the tentacles. “Good. In the morning, we will welcome you to the world, small one.”

A blink, uncertain. Eddie shakes his head. “They’re safe.” His voice doesn’t sound like his. “Venom-“

“I know.” He takes Eddie’s hand. “And I- it can be tempting to stop. I know that better than anyone. But you must continue; you carry the future inside you. You must live.”

Eddie closes his eyes. The weight of his dead love is threaded through his muscles and bones, heavy and cold and endlessly beckoning. “I know.” He whispers. “He- he wanted to stay. To fight. I tried to tell him to run, I thought we would be _safe-“_

“There is nowhere safe. Not in this world, or any other.”

Eddie looks over Drax’s shoulder. In the viewscreen, he can see the remains of the planet, burning away from the inside. A whole world- gone.

How long would it take, before that was Earth?

“Yes.” Eddie whispers. “We-“ He closes his eyes. No, not we. Not anymore. “I’ll fight. No matter what happens, I’ll end this.”

**Author's Note:**

> “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.”  
> ― William Golding, Lord of the Flies


End file.
